Episode 289: From Our Inboxes to Your Ears
Date September 18, 2013 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about extreme tiebreak scenarios, home run robberies, the winningest and losingest players, Mike Trout, and more. Topics * Winningest and losingest players * Home run robberies at home vs. away * Seeing one game in baseball history * Value of pitcher wins * Ejection in the middle of a play * Comparing Mike Trout's defense to past eras Intro Beck, "Loser" Banter * Episode 217 follow-up: there is a rule that prohibits the infield wall * Episode 287 follow-up: Ben reviews the pickles he made and is making a second batch. Email Questions * Miles: "Consider the following string of abysmal end season records: lists These are the records of every major league team that Adam Dunn has played for, including both the Reds and Diamondbacks in 2008. From the beginning of his career until now with the White Sox presently at 58-88, Dunn is in the middle of his umpteenth September of meaningless baseball. How did that happen? Is Dunn the recipient of bad random luck or is something about his distinctive skill set help bring upon this horrid fate? Maybe his slug only performance only appeals to teams that were going to be bad in the first place. I'm curious where Dunn fits in/among active players in terms of individual winning percentage if such a thing can be calculated. Have any current major leaguers suffered losses more often than Dunn? I wonder what journeyman would surprise us for being close to the top." * Kevin (Austin, TX): "I was reading Ben's post on Carlos Gomez's home run robberies this season and I noticed that all five plays came at Miller Park. This could be just a coincidence but it seems reasonable that outfielders could make more of those plays at home where they might have a better sense of where the wall is and how the outfield plays. Do you think fielders have an easier time robbing home runs at home? Between home run saves and other boundary plays, how many runs do you think the home team gains over the course of a season just by knowing the geometry of its park?" * Matt: "How great would it be if five teams were to tie for the last wild card spot in the American League? I don't know if this is even possible given the remaining schedules but a mini playoff between teams like Texas, Cleveland, Baltimore, New York, and Kansas City would make for fantastic drama. A team might have to play three single elimination games just to win the right to play in the single elimination wild card. Do league rules even address this possibility, and how might they handle a five team playoff?" * Jeff: "Given the chance to go back in time and see one game, which would you choose and why?" * Ed: "Madison Bumgarner failed to get the win on September 8th after pitching 6 scoreless. The Giants eventually won, Bay Area News Group quotes Bumgarner saying 'It doesn't matter if I get the win or not, I don't care it's out of our control. All the starters are trying to do is compete and give us a chance to win, eat up some innings.' So, is Bumgarner a stathead or just dealing with disappointment?" * Dylan: "Do you think a player can get ejected in the middle of a play? The only feasible scenario I can come up with would be during a home run trot. Say a player goes yard, and as he rounds first place he very explicitly yells at the umpire or says some unfavorable things about his mother. He gets tossed, but does he score first? Does the player who replaces him get to finish the trot around the bases?" * Bill: "My understanding is that defensive metrics only go back so far (10 years or so?) and that base running metrics require play by play data that goes back farther but not way way back. If those assumptions are correct (if even one is correct), how do we compare Trout with say Lou Gehrig or Honus Wagner or even the young Willie Mays given that a non-trivial component of Trout's overall value comes from defense and base running. Notes * MLB Rule 6.04, Section C: "No fielder shall take a position in the batter’s line of vision, and with deliberate unsportsmanlike intent, act in a manner to distract the batter. PENALTY: The offender shall be removed from the game and shall leave the playing field, and, if a balk is made, it shall be nullified." * Ben, on his homemade pickles, "They were above replacement pickles...I like my pickles barely legal, almost indistinguishable from cucumbers..." * Ryan Doumit is the losingest active player with a .377 winning percentage. * Ben found that there is no advantage to the home team on making home run robberies. * MLB does not have a contingency in place for a five team playoff. * Sam would attend either his first game (Braves. vs. Giants on 9/13/86), Jackie Robinson's first game, or the final game of the 1913 World Series. Ben would attend the 7/2/63 Warren Spahn vs. Juan Marichal 16 inning game. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 289: From Our Inboxes to Your Ears * Winningest/Losingest active players (minimum 800 games) as of 9/18/2013 * Carlos Gomez Hates Homers, and Other 2013 Exploits in Individual Defense by Ben Lindbergh * The Tiebreak That Would Bring Baseball to its Knees by Ben Lindbergh Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes